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'Vermin:' Nugent fires back at critics who want Oshkosh show canceled

Waterfest fans share their opinions on Ted Nugent's performance at the event next month. A group of people have said Nugent does not belong in Oshkosh and want the show cancelled. June 27, 2014. Video: Noell Dickmann/Oshkosh Northwestern Media.
Noell Dickmann/Oshkosh Northwestern Media

Classic rocker Ted Nugent performed as part of the Midwest Express Tour at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Sunday, May 5, 2013, in Alpharetta, GA. (Photo by Dan Harr/Invision for AP Images)(Photo: Dan Harr, Dan Harr/Invision/AP)

Ted Nugent, who performs Saturday at the Leach Amphitheater, has a few words for critics calling for Waterfest organizers to cancel his show.

"I take it as a badge of honor that such unclean vermin are upset by me and my positive energy," Nugent said in a recent interview with Oshkosh Northwestern Media. "Put your heart and soul into everything you do and nobody can stop you. Sometimes you give the world the best you got and you get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you got anyway."

The outspoken rocker took some time to respond to a few questions via email while on the SHUTUP & JAM! tour, which stops in Oshkosh during Waterfest Weekend. He said he's always had critics.

"By all indicators, I don't think they actually qualify as people, but there has always been a lunatic fringe of hateful, rotten, dishonest people that hate happy, successful people," Nugent said.

His performance at Waterfest sparked a bit of controversy last month when an Oshkosh resident wrote a letter to the editor and a group of people against his appearance in Oshkosh started a petition on MoveOn.org to have the show cancelled. The petition has since been taken down. Reps from MoveOn.org said it was taken down by the creator, Mark Bye, who did not respond to inquiries regarding it.

Waterfest President Mike Dempsey said they have not receieved any complaints since then, and have sold more V.I.P. tickets for Nugent's performance than any of the three premium shows this summer.

Elsewhere, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Worley, Idaho canceled Nugent's Aug. 4 concert at its casino, the town of Longview, Texas paid Nugent about $16,000 earlier this year to have him not perform at its Fourth of July Festival, and a protest on Tuesday is planned in Montclair, New Jersey to picket his performance at the Wellmont Theater that night.

His comments may be off-putting to some, but Nugent said he is simply doing his job as an American when he speaks freely on controversial and political topics.

"I have been blessed to be welcomed into the lives of US Military heroes forever and have come to know the serious price paid for freedom and the American Dream. I have vowed to these warriors that I will put to use to the best of my ability those freedoms and rights that they have sacrificed to provide we the people in this sacred experiment in self-government," he said. "I believe raising hell and demanding accountability from our elected employees is Job One for every American. I am simply doing my job."

Nugent's performance in Oshkosh is part of a national tour to promote his first album in seven years, SHUTUP & JAM! which was released July 8. The 65-year-old will perform his 6,500th live show during the tour this summer.

He shared a taste of what audiences can look forward to at his concert, and said every song, every concert and every night is a riot.

"As always, they can expect sheer outrage and a ferocious animal dance music soul music soundtrack of freedom, attitude, liberty, spirit and all-American defiance of all things status quo. Oh, yeah, and some killer lovesongs too," he said. "I've got the best band on planet earth, and they put more energy and piss & vinegar into my music than any guitar player could ever dream of."

Throughout his career Nugent has sold more than 40 million albums, but recording SHUTUP & JAM! has been the highlightof his life, he said.

"It's impossible describe this earth shattering, soul cleansing, spirit erecting SHUTUP & JAM! musical adventure! My musical dream has been a ferocious force to reckon with for more than 50 glorious years so far, but this recording session with these songs and these astonishing musicians is without question the highlight of my life," Nugent said.

With hunting ties to the state, the Nuge said he feels right at home in Wisconsin.

"I've been rockin' & rollin' WI pretty much every year since 1965, originally with the Amboy Dukes. I love the Badger State spirit and attitude, and feel very much at home with my rock-n-roll and hunting buddies in WI," he said. "I also shoot a Mathews bow which is manufactured in WI, deeply admire the great bowhunting father Roy Case, have hunted the WI sacred grounds, and am a lifetime member of the WI Bowhunters Association..."